Collegiate Corner: Notes from Opening Week

Ahh, college. What a magical time. I can still remember my roommate freshman year. He never showered, wore shoes and frequently left bowls of boiled noodles out, unrefrigerated, only to pick them back up several days later and eat a few. Ahh, yes. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think back fondly on the kid who dressed up as a bush every day so he could jump out and scare other student on their way to class. The college years truly represent a time when young minds grow and evolve, and the same goes for the college crop of baseball talent. The 2021 NCAA baseball season began just last weekend, which means many of the top names for the upcoming MLB Draft and subsequent first-year player fantasy drafts are finally back on full display. After coming out with my rankings of the Preseason Top 50 College MLB Draft Prospects at the beginning of February, several stars have already made headlines or showcased telling impressions after the first week of play. I’ll continue to follow all of these names from now until July, working towards a Complete College Top 100 in advance of the 2021 MLB Draft. But for now, let’s check in on a few key names and discuss what I saw in this week’s collegiate corner. All are welcome, so long as you don’t leave your noodles out.

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See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Sun 8/3
	ARI \| ATH \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| ATL \| CIN \| OAK

One Man’s Trash: Marcus, Darling?

February 25, 2021 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, 2021 Fantasy Baseball, One Man's Trash | 6 Comments

by: Son

Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang is an American classic. I don’t care that Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 43% rating on its Tomatometer. Rotten Tomatoes is stupid. I don’t care the audience score is only 59%. 41% of people have no taste. It has a young Halle Berry looking mighty fine, John Witherspoon showing us how to coordinate, and Grace Jones telling us what the essence of sex smells like. Then there’s Eartha Kitt, an old who keeps trying to seduce Marcus Graham, played by Eddie Murphy, by purring, Marcus, Darling, every time she sees him. This brings me to Marcus Semien of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Athletics weren’t fond of him, as they refused to pay that man his money. Offseason drafters haven’t been particularly enamored with him, as he is the 15th shortstop and 134th overall player being selected in NFBC drafts. Many are saying that he’s an old whose best days are behind him. So, will Marcus be a darling or is he someone we should be disregarding?

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Fantasy Baseball Podcast: International Signings, LABR, and RazzSlam with Tim McLeod

February 25, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, All Podcasts |

by: B_Don

Donkey Teeth and B_Don are joined by a perennial podcast guest favorite, Tim McLeod of Prospect 365. Every pre-season Tim is kind enough to jump on the podcast to discuss the newest crop of Japanese and Korean league signings across the majors. We ask him to give us the down low on Ha-Seong Kim, Kohei Arihara, Chris Flexen, and Matt Moore. We also ask Tim what he expects from some of the other Asian league signings from recent years like Yusei Kikuchi and Yoshi Tsutsugo.

We then turn our attention to a couple of Tim’s leagues as he recently drafted in the mixed LABR league with our own Rudy Gamble. Plus, Tim has agreed to join the RazzSlam for the first time this season. We start by asking him what he thinks of the RazzSlam and give him the 4-1-1 on the league setup before asking him what his strategy might be. Finally, we wrap up with Tim’s LABR team from his first 4 picks to some of the prospect picks we’ve come to expect from the great Tim McLeod.

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NL-Only, 12 Team Draft Recap or: The Rockies Are Good, Right?

February 25, 2021 | Our Leagues | 189 Comments

by: Grey

As many of you know, I’m in the NL-Only Tout Wars and LABR, so every year I take part in an industry NL-Only league with the CBS peeps (and Donkey Teeth, BDon, Itch…Now that I think about it, it’s all Razzball people and CBS’s Scott White) to try to find my footing like a drunk sailor hearing about a peg boy for the first time. If you don’t know what a peg boy is, don’t google it, which is what someone says knowing that will 100% cause someone to google it. Some might mock, some might mock draft, but this is my draft prep, and am happy to take part in this league. Until about 25 minutes into the draft, and players go for way too much, and I start getting hungry and I just want the whole thing to be over and ermahgerd! But, for those first twenty-five minutes of the five-hour draft, I’m laser focused. For this league, I once again use Rudy’s NL-Only rankings, and his War Room (it’s free with a subscription). I won’t try to get you to buy it anymore. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make the horse put a cape down so I can walk over the water without getting wet. (If you want a shallower league, play against me and hundreds others for prizes –> Razzball Commenter Leagues.) Anyway, here’s my 12-team NL-Only team and some thoughts:

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Top 100 Keepers for 2021 Fantasy Baseball

February 24, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Keepers | 74 Comments

by: Kerry Klug

I feel like I say this every year around this time — but I LOVE keeper leagues. Especially all the crazy rules and context to them. “If you drafted him in the 13th round, he becomes a 10th round keeper next year, then a 4th round keeper the year after that, then a 1st the year after that. And if you keep him in the 1st you can’t keep anyone else with a 1st.” or “If you bought him for $5 his inflation becomes $18 in 2022. Then in 2023 he’ll be $31.43” or “You can’t keep anyone in the first 5 rounds, because one year Smitty somehow kept Miggy, A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols and Roy Halladay and broke the league.” And let me tell you — I love ALL of it. Your league’s crazy rules are what make it unique and interesting. Navigating this craziness is part of the fun. So these are just my rankings for your standard, vanilla 5×5 roto league. But my favorite part of this article — is always in the comments helping you guys breaking down your crazy keeper rules and making the best choices. So get down there and tell me your league’s crazy keeper system and how I can help you make your best decision!

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Deep Thoughts: Do You Wanna Build With Stroman?

February 24, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, Deep Thoughts | 8 Comments

by: Coolwhip

After what feels like a year-long winter without baseball, inside dining, and building social capital, it’s finally back. No more concealing it, it’s finally time to open up the gates… this last week pitchers and catchers have reported to Spring Training, and the smell of baseball is in the air. I can’t tell you how much that gets me hyped. It’s been years since I played baseball competitively. Yet with the promise of spring around the corner, I still get that same joy from deep in my soul. It happens every year like clockwork, and it’s always magical. The chance at a new player breaking into the bigs, a hitter making an adjustment to finally hit sliders, and a pitcher… oh, the pitchers… finding that new grip that opens the door to new possibilities. How can you not be romantic about baseball?

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2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep, Pairings

February 24, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy | 188 Comments

by: Grey

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Here’s a post that’s gonna make you wanna slap ya mama and tell her Don Magic Juan sends his best. The other day I told you how to draft your pitchers for 2021 fantasy baseball. I laid it out to you nice and simple (if you have a degree in “What The Hell Is Grey Talking About?” Not a PhD, mind you. Just a BS.) Today, we forget all that jabberwocky on the who-ha and get down to business old school-style (which means if you don’t comprehend, I will hit you over the head with a baseball bat signed by Joe Clark.) What I’m hoping to lay out to you is who do you draft 2nd, if you’ve drafted so and so first. I think it might be helpful to go through pairings for your 5 outfielders, all your middle and corner infielders too. I’m not sure I’ll have the time or patience to do them. We’ll see! Or not. Your choice. (Actually, my choice.) For easy reference, the royal we will be using the top 10 for 2021 fantasy baseball, top 20 for 2021 fantasy baseball, and the beginning of the top 100 for 2021 fantasy baseball. I’m going to assume you’re in a 12 team, 5×5, MI, CI, 5 OF, 1 Utility, 1 Catcher league, similar to our Razzball Commenter Leagues. (Sign up for multiple leagues, and beat the heck out of your frenemies or make new frenemies!) Anyway, here’s some pairings for the first two rounds of 2021 fantasy baseball drafts:

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Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Top Third Basemen for 2021 Fantasy Baseball

February 23, 2021 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 2 Comments

by: Geoff

Every week it’s something new. No seriously we have a different position each week, and while 90% of the third base rankings are covered in the Top 20, First Base, Second Base, and Shortstops we still found a way to talk about the hot corner for 60+ minutes. And by hot corner I mean that piece in the middle of a REAL Chicago pizza. None of that deep dish shizz. We rant about the third basemen you should draft, tell you when to draft them, and tell you who to avoid. It’s a wonderful journey around the horn!

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Razzball Commenter Leagues – Why Join 2021

February 23, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, Our Leagues, Razzball Commenter Leagues | 27 Comments

by: MattTruss

Pitchers and catchers have reported and the Razzball Commenter Leagues are open, it’s beginning to feel a lot like baseball! I can’t wait to be half as productive at work and start losing countless hours of sleep staying up to watch the end of the Marlins@Padres game, just in case there is a closer injury. Football was a fine diversion, but I always feel a little empty without baseball. I’m happy to be back for another season as your RCL tour guide. Last season just never felt quite right. I don’t know about you, but I found myself just going through the motions in leagues. That’s no fun and I’m crossing my fingers for a normal season this year. I mean, this isn’t a surprise anymore, MLB has had an entire year to plan for this very moment, so I’m sure they have the most well thought out plan possible and are ready to give it their all. Everyone must be on the same page, right? Right? Hello? Well, we’ll carry on through March and hope for the best. What more can we do? The RCLs are a different beast than most of your 12 team mixed leagues, so let’s go over a little of what you can expect and also why you should join. If you’re on the fence about joining an RCL, you really shouldn’t be sitting on fences, that sounds terribly uncomfortable, but we’re here to help guide you in your decision making. So, grab an energy drink of your choosing and let’s get into things.

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Rolling In The Deep: An Early Look At Cheap Second Basemen

February 23, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, Rolling In The Deep | 35 Comments

by: Laura Holt

I’m not sure how many leagues I’m in where I’ll be in the market for an off-the-radar second baseman, because as my drafts have gotten going over the last couple of months I’ve found myself trying to fill the 2B position earlier rather than later. I’ve found myself willing to perhaps overpay a bit for Ozzie Albies or Whit Merrifield, or maybe gamble on an upside-without-a-long-track-record, relatively early pick of Cavan Biggio or Keston Hiura. Things get dicey in a hurry, as I’m not remotely interested in, say, Jose Altuve or Dylan Moore at their current ADPs (which are both around 100 overall according to NFBC). I might take a flier on Mike Moustakas (ADP #120) who qualifies at 2B in most leagues, Tommy Edman (#129), or Nick Solak (#169), but I’m not overly confident that any of those three will provide solid value at those prices, let alone confident enough to reach for any of them.

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Fantasy Baseball War Room, 2021 Edition

February 23, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy | 98 Comments

by: Grey

The Fantasy Baseball War Room is back! I’m not saying the Fantasy Baseball War Room is back, as in, is a butt. So, if Sir Mix-A-Lot is reading, I’m truly sorry for the confusion. Our Fantasy Baseball War Room is one part draft tool, one part fantasy team evaluator, one part fantasy junkie’s s’s and g’s tool, one part holy, two parts smokes, three parts… How many parts is that so far? Cause it’s only really seven parts total. I think there’s one part kill-your-day-with-this-war-room-thing-a-maboob-as-a-pinwheel-spins in there too. Essentially, this helps you practice building a fantasy baseball team. Rudy also has a War Room that comes with Razzball subscriptions. His War Room is better and offsite, i.e., he’ll give you a link to download everything. I repeat, his War Room is better, but is not free. Ask anyone in the comments if Rudy’s War Room is better, they will say 100% it is better. This one is free, and janky at times. You’ve been warned, so you cannot complain.

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Rudy’s 2021 LABR Mixed Draft

February 22, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, Our Leagues | 41 Comments

by: Rudy Gamble

Some drafters are more preoccupied with power than others.

No one at the LABR Mixed Draft was as preoccupied by power as I was (well, except fellow Austinite Paul Sporer and similarly weather fucked Oregonian Ryan Bloomfield) thanks to the wintry, energy grid challenged hellscape that was Texas on Tuesday, February 16, 2021.

Luckily, the House of Gamble did not fall so I have only myself to blame if this team does not take down a crown.

As always, thanks to Steve Gardner at USA Today for the invite.

Please, blog, may I have some more?